CDEVROE

Photographing 40-foot Falls in Archbald, PA just after Hurricane Ida

40-foot falls is a waterfall I had no idea existed until just this year despite living in this area of Northeastern Pennsylvania for the majority of my life. I heard about it from a YouTube video by Dale Keklock, a local historian of sorts that is painstakingly documenting the now moribund coal industry in our area – everything from the abandoned town of Edgerton to the manmade reservoirs and waterways created during that time period.

Once I had heard about 40-foot falls I knew I wanted to photograph them. Little did I know that Hurricane Ida would be dumping an enormous amount of water on our area just a few days later.

But first, a scouting mission with my Dad.

My father Robert, in a light blue shirt and holding a walking stick, standing on a wooded trail beside a moss-covered rock ledge.
My father Robert

After just a short hike we found the falls relatively easily – thanks to Keklock’s video on YouTube. I had brought a few cameras along but knew that I wouldn’t photograph the falls unless they were really showing well. Spoiler: they weren’t.

40-foot falls during the scouting hike, only thin strands of water running down its wide, layered rock face.
The falls seen through green foliage, a single narrow stream dropping down the dark rock wall.

Beautiful? Yes. But not worth exposing on film just yet. Have you seen film prices? But I made a mental note that the next time we had a good, decent rain (which, during the summer of 2021 was almost weekly) I would return with my drone and film cameras to capture a few images.

Just 11 days later, this happened.

A National Weather Service radar graphic over the Northeast, captioned that significant and locally life-threatening flash flooding is expected going into the evening hours.
Image credit: John Hickey, WNEP Meteorologist on Twitter

The remnants of Hurricane Ida spilled inches of rain per hour across the US including our corner of Pennsylvania. I told Eliza we needed to get up early and hike to 40-foot falls to get some photos.

Me crouched at the edge of the swollen creek below the falls, backlit by sun coming through the trees.
Me, setting up a shot. Photo credit: Eliza Devroe

Well, this time the falls were putting on a good show.

An aerial view of both tiers of the falls at full flow, white water spread across a wide rock face surrounded by dense green forest.
Both lower and upper falls
An aerial view of the upper falls, a broad sheet of white water pouring over the rock shelf into the trees below.
Upper falls

It was time to expose some film.

My medium format camera on a tripod, seen from behind, aimed at the falls through the surrounding brush.
My hand holding a partly unrolled roll of 120 Kodak film in front of green leaves.
Black and white photograph of the upper falls, a tall bright cascade framed by dark overhanging branches.
Upper falls
Black and white photograph of the lower falls, water pouring over a ledge into churning whitewater, framed by dark trees.
Lower falls
Black and white photograph of White Oak Dam, water sheeting evenly across the full width of the spillway, a metal gate house above and a pipe crossing the foreground.
White Oak Dam, just downstream from the falls

I’ve added these photos to my portfolio as well. I shot mostly with the Mamiya 645 Pro TL but also a bit with the Canon AE-1 Program. It was my first time using brand-new Kodak Tri-X. I have to say I’m really liking this film stock.

I’m glad Eliza and I returned so soon after Ida. The images were well worth the effort to get the timing right. I plan on making some prints of these images – and others captured on that day – this winter in the darkroom.

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